Honda has always made some pretty interesting ads, but this new one from its UK division for the Civic hatchback is looking extremely good. And that’s just on the computer screen, as this particular video was shown before every screening of James Cameron’s Avatar, the latest blockbuster to come from Hollywood.
The message is that everything the company does, whether it’s cars, motorcycles, boats or robots, is shared between its departments, in order to make everything better.
Hit the jump to see the ad.
Read More: “Video: Honda releases new ad for its Civic hatchback”
By far one of the most popular adventures featured on Top Gear was the Polar Special, where Jeremy Clarkson and James May became the first men to drive a car to the magnetic North Pole, beating Richard Hammond which was manning a dog sled.
The impressive feat was largely due to the extensively modified Toyota Hilux trucks, courtesy of Arctic Trucks, a company specialized in polar exploration. But while you might have though it was a unique project, the company is now offering tours of Iceland in the same customized Hilux pick-up trucks.
You too will now be able to partake in explorations as long as you can afford them, in the rugged trucks that sport 38-inch wheels and various other enhancements in order to cope with the extreme conditions. Check out the complete offer by following this link.
After announcing it last year, Citroen has finally presented the C-Zero all-electric model at the Brussels Motor Show in Belgium. The car is the French company’s own take on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, using the same drive train as the Japanese city car.
It is powered by a permanent magnetic synchronous motor, which generates 64 HP with 133 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels through a single-speed reduction gear. Feeding the motor will be a center mounted 330-volt lithium-ion battery pack, which has a range of 80 miles and can be fully recharged in six hours from a 220-volt socket and features a quick-recharge option, which gets it to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes from a 400-volt socket.The top speed is around 80 mph, and although it won’t really blow your mind, the performance figures are: 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 15 seconds while 37 to 56 mph is achieved in 6 seconds.
The C-Zero is set to enter production in the second half of 2010, and might appear on the market before the year is over. For those of you interested, Citroen is offering test drives to anyone who pre-orders the electric city car.
Read More: “Citroen C-Zero electric model officially revealed”
The Cadillac CTS-V is properly fast, but there’s always room for improvement, at least according to the tuning crew at Fastlane, which looked at the Corvette ZR1 and the CTS-V and saw quite a lot of possibilities in between the two GM cousins.
As such, they took out the blower out of the ZR1′s LS9 engine block and fitted it to the Cadillac’s LSA unit. The result? A boost from the stock 556 HP to around 630 HP, although the actual result might be a bit higher (670 according to the dyno).
Either way, this is a great add-on for anyone who wants more power out of the Cadillac CTS-V. Hit the jump to see the car on the dyno and on the road for a few tests.
Read More: “Video: Cadillac CTS-V sedan gets Corvette ZR1 supercharger, 630 HP courtesy of Fastlane”
The Tokyo Auto Salon was filled with interesting customization projects, but this one, coming from a group of students from the Saitama University, really takes the aftermarket cake, as they modified a Toyota Supra mk IV (1993-2002) to look like a classic 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Eleanor.
In case you don’t remember, the Eleanor Mustang was extensively featured in the movie Gone in 60 seconds, starring Nicholas Cage, and, arguably, was the best part of the whole movie.
The project is called Moto Supra, and is powered by the same six-cylinder engine as the classic Japanese sports coupe, although it isn’t clear if it is the turbocharged version or the naturally aspirated one. Like or dislike? Share your thoughts below.
Read More: “Toyota Supra goes for 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 Eleanor look”
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Association has just announced a new recall for 24,177 new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models due to a potential brake failure.
It seems that a part of the brake hydraulics system, a retaining clip, might be deformed or even missing entirely out of these 2010 models, meaning that after some time the brakes will begin to be less responsive and eventually fail altogether.
The NHTSA advises anyone with such 2010 models from the three brands to call his local dealer in order to have the car checked out as soon as possible.
Read More: “2010 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models recalled due to potential brake failure”
According to Reuters Japanese carmaker Suzuki is preparing to end its collaboration with General Motors, after the two companies worked extensively on both hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell technologies.
The Asian carmaker, as you may know, has recently seen 19.9% of its stock bought by Volkswagen, which became the largest share holder, a position formerly held by GM. As such, it seems that the Japanese company will break its ties with the US and start working more closely with the European company.
“Suzuki is in a comprehensive alliance with Volkswagen. In every field including hybrid, diesel and electric cars, we will carry out joint development with them, or we will learn from them,” revealed Osamu Suzuki, chairman and chief executive of the company.
It is also expected for Suzuki to stop collaborating with the PSA Peugeot Citroen group, with which it has been sharing diesel engines. As you know, VW is more than willing to share its TDI tech in order to strengthen its ties with the Japanese company, which will be the key to its expansion on the Asian market.
Read More: “Suzuki ending partnership with GM, finds comfort with Volkswagen”
You have to love BMW. After releasing the M editions of the X5 and X6 SUV and SAV, the company saw fit to “educate” its drivers in the finer ways of wielding the powerful behemoths (a lesson this guy probably missed).
As such, this video is the first in an educational series, which shows you how to gain control of your SUV if it is drifting on the snow. But while the instructor can say that with a straight face, I’m thinking he and his colleague just wanted to do donuts in the snow with the X5 M and X6 M.
Hit the jump to have some fun … I mean educate yourselves!
Read More: “Video: BMW X5 M and X6 M drift on snow for educational purposes”
I’m pretty sure almost any car fan already saw the dramatic crash of a $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron supercar into a lake, presumably because of a “low-flying pelican”, which spawned a variety of reactions and some accusations aimed at its owner, Andy House.
Now it seems House wants to take the fight to the pelicans, and has bought another Veyron (similar to the one pictured above), seeing as how the last one was totaled in the crash. He didn’t buy it new, as this model is from 2008, but you can still figure out that it cost quite a lot of money.
Hopefully now he will stay clear of any lakes and perhaps use a headset when talking on the phone and driving the 1001 HP supercar.
Read More: “What do you do when your Bugatti Veyron crashes into a lake? Buy another one of course!”
New reports are coming in regarding the Saab odyssey, which reveal that Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker is the only remaining party interested in the company, even though Bernie Eccelstone and Genii Capital have revealed last week that they are preparing a new offer.
But even though Spyker is still talking with GM, it seems it won’t lead to the sale of the Swedish brand, as there are a few clauses that might not go well with the US company. First off, it seems that Spyker wants GM to retain a stake in Saab, something which the corporation wants to avoid, in order to fund the development of other segments.
Secondly, it seems that Spyker’s Russian owner, Vladimir Antonov, isn’t exactly “loved” by GM, which declined to sell Opel last year to the Canadian partsmaker Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank.
Overall, Saab’s journey might come to an end soon, and it doesn’t seem like sunshine and rainbows will await it there.
Read More: “Spyker reportedly the only bidder left for Saab, the odyssey continues”
We cover quite a lot of crashes on our blog, but this recent one involving a Nissan 370Z roadster is quite unique. Not that such cars don’t crash, but that not a lot of cars crash into churches, like this Japanese model did.
No concrete details were given, but it seems that either the 370Z is the devil’s work, or maybe its driver was really late for the church service. Either way, it seems that the driver managed to escape and maybe said a prayer or two.
Read More: “Nissan 370Z crashes into a … church”
Even though BBC’s Top Gear car show is an UK product, its appeal spans the whole globe, no matter the viewer’s nationality.
After season 14 has wrapped up in the UK, BBC America is preparing to release the first episode of season 13, on Monday, January 25th at 8/7c. In case you don’t remember from the UK airing, the 13th season will be host to the reveal of the famous Stig, among other exciting things.
But before the 25th arrives, BBC is offering US viewers special DVD editions of seasons 11 and 12, which contain 14 episodes of car-related action, and over 2 hours of additional content, like bonus footage or behind the scenes videos. Season 11 will cost $25.98 while season 12 goes for $33.98 at the BBC America Shop.
BBC America will also host a DVD giveaway of these two seasons until the 13th one arrives in one week. Those of you interested in the competition can access it here. Also, as a special treat for people who can’t tune in when season 13 begins, the episodes will be available one day later on the iTunes store, so that you can yell “POWER!” and compare your lap times with the Stig’s on the go.
When Toyota introduced its G Sports Concept line at the Tokyo Auto Salon, it was clear that its luxury Lexus division wouldn’t be without its own take on this strategy. As such, the IS F Circuit Club Sports Concept was shown at its own booth.
But what’s behind the rather lengthy name? Carbon fiber, and lots of it. It seems that Lexus engineers realized that the IS F was a bit chunky as opposed to its European rivals, and decided to outfit a carbon fiber hood, roof, trunk, front winglets, rear extractors and the big wing in the back.
A new exhaust system was also fitted to the IS F CCS, which takes the total HP coming from the 5.0-liter V8 to 428. All of the weight saving measures have resulted in 125 lbs being shaved off, not much but it might attract a few customers.
Read More: “Lexus IS F Circuit Club Sports Concept shows its carbon fiber in Tokyo”
Besides offering the newly-revealed Ford Focus in 2011, the US company is also preparing an all-electric variant, which is also due to show up that year, highlighting its faith in the new type of power.
The model will be powered by batteries, achieving the zero-emissions goal. It will have a range of 100 miles (around 160 km) with a single charge, more than plentiful for city trips. The batteries will be fully charged in six to eight hours, using a 220V outlet.
“Ford is committed to help lead the way to find creative solutions to ensure that electrified vehicles can deliver benefits to our customers, the environment and our business around the globe in a sustainable way,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford director of Global Electrification.
The Focus Electric will have a user interface similar to the one on the Fusion Hybrid, the SmartGauge, which will inform the drive on the state of the batteries and how much distance he can travel with the current amount of power.
Read More: “Ford to launch electric Focus in 2011”
At least for Japan, it seems that all future sports models will be going hybrid one way or another. After hearing that both the future Nissan GT-R R36 and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo XI will see their gasoline engine accompanied by an electric motor, Toyota has just revealed the MR2 Sports Hybrid Concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
The concept, developed by Toyota and its tuning partner Gazoo, uses the old MR2 roadster platform, which was widened and saw the inclusion of a mid-mounted 3.3-liter V6, which powers the rear wheels, and an electric motor which powers the front ones.
While performance figures weren’t officially declared, voices are pegging it at around 400 HP, which, coupled with the weight of just 2,866 pounds (1,300 kg), makes this hybrid roadster extremely fast.
Read More: “Toyota reveals 400 HP MR2 Sports Hybrid Concept”
